Thursday, 13 May 2010

My favourite place to see bluebells in London is Holland Park. You can't stroll through them, but you get these gorgeous views through the trees across a sea of shimmering blue that momentarily makes you feel like you're miles away and that a haywain might suddenly appear round the corner. Or even a pig.

Only this year, you might actually get to see a porker in the park in one of London's best postcodes. It's not a creature you'd normally associate with this part of town. But four saddleback pigs have been brought in for a couple of months as part of the woodland management programme. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea had to choose between chemicals or pigs, and the porkers won.Their rooting around will naturally grub up bulbs and wildflowers that have become congested - so next year's bluebells will look even more stunning.

But while it is a beautiful spot, the park is over fond of rules and regulations: dogs on leads and no skateboarding are top of the list. While my skateboarding is hardly going to suffer, I do like the dog to be able to potter about of his own free will; with so much other animal life about (black rabbits and peacocks too), I might bedgrudgingly admit that it's not an unreasonable request. But do they need quite so many signs to remind you? There are so many that I almost missed the notice about the pigs.

8 comments:

I think that's remarkable to have pigs roaming about a city park. Here's my silly question - how do they get them to stay put and not wander off looking for something even more delicious? Know what you mean about signs in the park - the last time I was in the Toronto Botanical Gardens I think they had just enlarged the sign to include at least 4 more rules...

Hi Barbara and welcome - how nice to have a visit from Toronto. Now I feel a bit remiss in my description of the pigs in the park - they are in a big fenced enclosure that surrounds the woodland areas. (That's another thing about Holland Park - very pretty walks and pathways but lots of the planting is fenced off...) But pigs have been known to escape, so I'll be watching.

That's really cool that they are using pigs to manage wildlands. Here, in California, we use goats. Pigs have become a pest animal here so we can't use them. Most parks here don't allow dogs at all. Not even on lead. Too many people choose to not clean up after them and cause all sorts of other problems.

Hi Rachel, are they using goats in cities? I heard about a project in Brighton (UK) where they are using sheep to manage the grassland. BTW, irresponsible dog owners are a pet irritation of mine. Ruins it for the rest of us.

Welcome Leavesnbloom and thanks for dropping by Idiot Gardener. I have been wondering if the outrageously pricey butchers on Holland Park Avenue is in cahoots with the council - perhaps they'll be selling locally bred sausages come Notting Hill Carnival?

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About Me

Writer, gardener and lover of gardens, plants and all green spaces, especially in cities where grass really does seem all the greener when it has concrete as a companion. I have a small back garden, shared with my husband and dog. A bigger space is a long way off, so for now I'm happy gardening in the neighbourhood and at work, whenever I can and discovering new greenery around town. This blog is about how I get my garden fix in London.